French museums beg to reopen as blockbuster exhibitions go unseen

A picture taken at the Louvre Museum in Paris shows a view of the empty entrance hall, as the museum remains closed due to the pandemic situation. Photo: AFP

It was to be a highlight of the art calendar: 230 works by impressionist master Henri Matisse gathered at France's leading modern art museum to mark 150 years since his birth.

But thanks to the pandemic, the show at the Pompidou Centre in Paris stayed open for only 10 days after it began in October, and it looks highly unlikely to resume before the paintings are packed away again at the end of February.